


Fine

by Starofwinter



Series: Adjacent Verse [14]
Category: Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Multi, Night Terrors, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 08:39:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8482798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/pseuds/Starofwinter
Summary: Prompt: “You look really tired.”





	

“Rex!  Rex, c’mon, wake up, kar’ta.”  Wolffe’s rough voice pulls him from the nightmare and he chokes out a harsh sob, clutching at his partner’s wrist hard enough to bruise.  He’s aware of Ahsoka between them, her hand cool as she rubs his shoulder.  Wide, wild eyes search the room before he comes back to himself; he’s vaguely aware of the twins crying from the next room, likely woken by his screams.

Wolffe gently pries his hand away, brushing back his blond hair.  “I’m gonna get them calmed down, I’ll be right back, alright?  ‘Soka, you want to take this?”  He waits till she nods before he gets up, padding out to Luke and Leia’s room.

“It’s okay, Rex, you’re safe,” she says softly, “Can you tell me where you are?”  It’s a good start for them, one she learned from Suu and Cut - it helps to ground him in the present, or if things are really bad, it tells her what kind of state he’s in.

Rex swallows hard.  “The farm, we’re on Saleucami.  I’m- I’m okay.  I’m okay.”  He’s not okay, and they all know it.  He’s barely holding his pieces together, and the latest round of nightmares has only made that worse.  

“How long have they been going on?” Ahsoka asks, and it’s clear from her expression that she feels guilty for having missed it.

He wants to reassure her, wants to convince her that he’s okay, and she doesn’t need to worry, but the best he can manage is a soft, “It’s fine.”

She shakes her head with a quiet sigh, and her thumb runs along his cheekbone, tracing the sharp line there.  “You’re not fine, Rex.  You look really tired, and I know you’ve been getting up in the middle of the night.  Talk to me, please,” she whispers, and he thinks this is what heartbreak feels like.

“I can’t.”  He wants to, gods, he wants to, but the second he thinks about it, his throat closes up and he shakes his head quickly, trying to still the trembling in his hands.  Wolffe’s low growl of a sigh echoes from the doorway as he walks in, sitting down on Rex’s other side, the two of them bracketing him in - not to trap him, his first panicked instinct - but to ground him.  Wolffe squeezes the back of his neck, and he’s nearly overwhelmed with touch for a moment before it seems to break through whatever brittle defenses he’s managed to put up.  “It’s-  they never stop,” he says softly, “They never kriffing stop.”  He’s shaking apart in their arms as they hold him and each other close.

It takes the better part of an hour, but Ahsoka and Wolffe finally get him calmed down enough for him to fall into a restless sleep.  She strokes Rex’s hair as he sleeps with his head on her lap.  “What do we do?” she asks softly, her brow markings furrowed as she looks up at Wolffe.

“Dunno, ‘soka.  Seen him like this a few times, but never this long.”  Wolffe can’t remember the last time Rex was this bad, save for the days after Umbara, and he hopes desperately that this isn’t a repeat of that.  “He’ll be alright.  We’re gonna make sure of it.”  He gives her a smile he doesn’t really feel and pulls her to lean against him.  “It’s gonna be okay.”


End file.
